Well, here is part 2 of this thing finally. I apologize for it taking so long.
had a few things happen in real life that claimed my attention.
But here it is.
C&C is always welcome and pelase respond to me personally.
jazz
crf_jensenja@crf.cuis.edu
Chapter 4 Daily Routine
"Morning."
-Vaughn-Undocumented Features
Jason awoke at the warm touch of sunlight on his face, that
and it beamed directly into his eyes helped. Stretching and
hearing various popping and cracking sounds, Jason sat up.
Looking out the window, he could see that the sun had just
started to rise.
Suddenly, he griped the sides of his head as memories of the
fight thundered back in. His mind ripe with the images of Sir
Crodyn challenging him, and so easily willing to kill Felicia.
His ire started to burn again.
[Jason, calm down. What's past is past.] his conscious mind
screamed.
"I just hope she wasn't hurt too badly." Jason mumbled to
himself.
[She wasn't.] a small section resounded.
[How?] he asked himself.
[Trust Me!!!]
[I hate it when I say that...]
[You will learn later.]
[Okay...]
Suddenly the door to his sleeping chamber opened up.
Looking towards the door, Jason's eyes fell on the cheery
countenance of Fel-chan.
"F...Fel-chan...you're okay..." he tried.
"Yes, but I am a little sore. It takes quite a bit to hurt
me." replied Felicia, grinning.
"I guess so. What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to do as Lord Gara said to "Roll you out of bed
and get you down to breakfast"."
"Why?" Jason asked, his brow furrowing.
"I think it might have something to do with Princess Sheila
deciding on what to do with you."
"And what might that be?" Jason inquired, his concern
growing.
"I can't tell. All I know is that I get to help." Felicia
replied, grinning mischievously.
"Oh boy..." Jason said, laying his forehead in his up turned
right palm. Suddenly, the memory of the cleaver strike to his
right arm entered his mind. Looking at his bicep, Jason's mind
boggled as the wound, or lack there of. Except for a slight
scar, the wound had healed completely.
"Well, are you gonna get out of bed or do I have to roll you
out of it?" asked Felicia pertly.
"I'm up, I'm up." replied Jason drawing back the covers.
Stretching once again, he found that a set of clothes had already
been laid out for him. "Felicia, please wait outside." he asked.
"Why? Embarrassed that I might see something I haven't seen
before?" she asked grinning.
Picking up a pillow, Jason sent traveling on the overhand
Serviceman express, causing Felicia to duck out the room. "Why
me?" asked Jason to the ceiling.
[Because you asked for it.]
[True.] he thought with a laugh.
Putting on the dark brown shorts and short-sleeved tunic,
Jason adjusted the belt pouch, gazing into the mirror, nodding in
agreement with what he saw. Putting on the sandals, he headed
for the door, pulling on the handle.
"Well, it took you long enough." assaulted his ears.
"My, my, my. Aren't we the impatient one." Jason replied
smartly.
"Breakfast is about to start. We gotta hurry."
"Okay, lead the way, oh hungry one." Jason said, following
in her footsteps.
After a short staircase and several passageways, they
arrived in the dining area. Seeing Darschu, Tia, Geo, Gara, and
the rest of the group, Jason whispered "We can't be eating here.
I thought we were headed for the kitchen."
Before Felicia could respond, Sheila said "Jason, good to
see you up this morning."
"Thank you, m'lady, for your generosity. How dost thou fare
this bright and grand morning?" Jason replied with a slight bow.
Straightening up, Jason caught the last part of a smile of
Princess Sheila's lips. Sighing softly, Jason took a seat at the
same table as these people.
Looking at each person as the food served, Jason's mind
boggled at the circumstances. Noticing this, Gara asked,
noticing that Jason hadn't touched his food yet, "What is it?
Not hungry?"
Blushing, Jason said "No...not that...just..."
"Just... what?" asked Darschu, eyeing the young man.
"Okay, how to explain this. This may sound silly, but I
have always wanted to be part of a different world, especially
this one. I had been fascinated that when I first saw the anime
of how vivid the characters. Now that you are all very real to
me, it's blowing my mind." tried Jason.
"Blowing your mind??" asked a confused Tia.
"It's an expression to say that something isn't believable
but very much possible. Like me being able to interact with some
worthy and, in my humble opinion, honorable people." Noticing
the smirk on Darschu's face, Jason continued, with a smirk of his
own, "Like Gara, Tia, Geo, Sheila, and Arshes."
With that, Darschu's smirk faded while everyone else had a
slight laugh. "But we like you anyway, Darschu." finished Jason
with a chuckle of his own.
"Gara, don't even think about touching my plate." said Jazz,
without looking.
Gara retracted his fork and decided to stay content with
what was on his plate.
After breakfast, Jason headed out to begin his, what would
become a routine, training session with Gara and Arshes Nei.
Starting with those two early in the morning with unarmed combat
was not his ideal day starter. Getting to the training area,
Jason closely inspected the turf for softness because in his
mind, he had envisioned his frequent flier miles increasing
dramatically.
Glancing to his left, Jason noticed Felicia take a seat up
against a tree, watching the would be training session. [Oh
great, another person I get to make a fool of myself in front
of.]
Turning to face Gara, a feeling of unease and nervousness
erupted in his inner being. Gara, Jason noticed, had on what
could be classified as a regular training outfit of a rich brown
tied off at the waist with a belt.
"Begin." commanded Arshes, wearing her usually one piece
almost swimsuit with a short skirt. Thankfully, Jason thought,
she isn't wearing the shoulder pads.
Both men went back into defensive postures. Or at least one
achieved while the other only made an attempt at one.
Throwing caution to the wind, Jason yelled "Ki-ahhh!!!"
attempting a straight forward punch. Having the wind forced from
his lungs, Jason looked up, from his prone position on the
ground, to see the smirking face of Gara.
"Let's try that again." said Gara, extending his hand.
Taking the hand firmly, Jason replied hesitantly "Okay..."
Attempting another defensive posture, Gara watched and shook
his head. "If you are going to go on defense, at least have a
proper stance."
To signify his point, Gara launched a defense shattering
punch that sent Jason sprawling. Turning over and getting back
to his feet, Jason tried once again to get into a defensive
posture, though a little different than his last one.
Gara once again shook his head. [He's getting better...but
he needs to get stronger, or at least better shape.] Motioning
Arshes over, he whispered a plan into her ear, a slow smiling
coming to her lips.
Looking at his two coaches, Jason felt the unease renew
itself, especially when Arshes began to smile.
Turning to face their trainee, Arshes said, getting into an
attack posture, "Jazz, Gara asked me to take over for a little
bit. Prepare to defend thyself."
"I don't think..." Jason tried, being cut off as Arshes
launched a series of punches and kicks. Fight or flight
mechanism took over, opting for flight as Jazz backed up rapidly.
To rapidly as his foot came across a tree root that sent him
sprawling as he desperately tried to defend off a punch.
Feeling the tightness in his chest increase, Jason reached
for his pouch to get his inhaler. Or at least he tried to reach
for where it would have been. Looking about slightly
frantically, Jason hoped it had only fallen off recently and was
therefore nearby. The panic he felt searching compounded the
tightness in his chest as his breathing came out in gasping
rasps.
"Looking for this?" asked Arshes, standing over Jason,
holding his sot after pouch. Had his asthma not been going
wild, Jason might have enjoyed the view[:)].
"Arshes...please give...that back...now..."rasped Jason,
getting to his feet slowly.
"Why? What's in here?" Arshes asked just keeping out of
Jason's reach if he made a grasp for the pouch.
"Arshes, please give me my pouch." rasped Jason, fighting
the asthma back under control slightly.
Catching the tossed pouch from Arshes, Gara said "Jazz,
before we can do any real training, we have to do some exercises
to get you into better shape. How about a run?" With that, Gara
turned and started jogging away for Jazz at a slow pace.
"GARA!!!!" yelled Jazz, swallowing once and kicking all
available energy to launch himself after the retreating ninja
master.
Seeing the raging locomotive on his tail, Gara easily kicked
into a higher speed. Seeing Gara starting to pull away, Jason
pushed even more energy into his legs.
"SYSTEM FAILURE IMMINENT!!" screamed a voice in Jason's
head. Opting to ignore it, Jason pounded on after the ninja
master, trying to pour on more speed. Five seconds later, the
same voice screamed "SYSTEM FAILURE!!!!" as Jason broke stride,
plowing into the, thankfully, soft turf.
"JAZZ!!!!!" screamed Felicia, bouncing up from her sitting
position by the tree, rushing to his side.
Arshes watched the race with slight amusement, until Jason
plowed into the turf. Running to where he lay, she found his
quivering form laying on the ground with his head in Felicia's
lap. Felicia, for her part, wiped the sweat from his forehead,
trying her best to calm him down. Arshes noticed his hands were
curled up while his fingers almost looked like claws, as waves of
shivering bounced around his body.
Hearing Felicia's scream, Gara stopped, looked back, and
started running towards the small huddle of people. Getting
there, Gara took in Jazz's quivering form.
Looking at Arshes and Gara, Felicia asked with a sob "What
happened to him?"
Before anyone could speak, Jason whispered
"Pouch...now...inhaler..."
"What does he mean?" asked Gara, looking at the pouch.
"Pour out the pouch." commanded Arshes.
Pouring the contents on the ground, Gara asked "Jazz, which
is it?"
"Grey...tube..." rasped Jason, sucking in breath, attempting
to point at his inhaler.
Handing the indicated device to him, Jason pulled the
inserted cylinder out and worked the protection cap off it.
Sliding the cylinder back home into the inhaler, Jason held the
device to his lips and breathed in the medication. Holding his
breath for a few seconds, Jason took another puff of medication
once again holding his breath.
Gara, Arshes, and Felicia noticed an immediate response.
Jason stopped shivering and relaxed, his breathing more normal to
what it should be. While waiting for his breathing to return to
full normalcy, Felicia wiped his forehead several times.
Opening his eyes slowly, Jason commented softly "Please,
don't ever do that again."
"Jazz, what happened?" asked Gara, slightly guilt ridden.
"Okay, I have asthma..." started Jason, going into a small
speel of what asthma is, what causes it, and common ways on how
to deal with it.
"Why don't you heal yourself of it?" asked Arshes.
"I wasn't sure if I had the energy and if it would even
work. I wanted to talk with Lord Geo first, but..." replied
Jason, gesturing around.
"Why not try?" asked Gara.
[Do or do not, There is no try.] Jason chuckled mentally.
"Okay, now would someone be willing to teach me a healing spell?"
"You don't know any healing spells?" asked Felicia in
disbelief.
Sitting up and facing her, Jason nodded, saying "Yeah.
Everything I cast before was done when I wasn't thinking proper,
almost shooting from the hip as it were."
"Okay. Watch and learn." replied Arshes, going into teacher
mode and Jason turned towards her.
Pulling up just enough energy, Jason cast the spell
inhibiting the asthma syndrome. "Boy, am I tapped. How long
will this last?"
"As long as you have magic to fuel it." replied Arshes, as
Gara helped Jason to his feet. Going on a hunch, Arshes did a
magic sense and came up with some surprising results. "Jazz,
with those spells you cast before, where did that energy come
from?"
Blushing slightly, Jason replied "I...I don't know. The way
it sounds, something happened that caused me to get angry and my
mind went out the window. I try to be very controlled. But when
I am angry, more emotions come up and probably fuel the fire. I
take it I am very low on magic right now."
Nodding, Arshes replied "Yes. I am barely getting a magic
sense off you. Like you said, that simple spell must have really
tapped you out."
Taking a few experimental steps, Jason looked at his two gym
coaches asking "Okay, what's next?"
After having a few brief words with Gara, Arshes replied
"That'll be all for today. You need your rest."
Shrugging, Jason said, trying to unsuccessfully hide his
relief, "Okay..."
"But be ready for tomorrow." said Gara with a grin. "You
will be getting a real workout."
"Y-yeah." replied Jason, heading back inside the walls of
Metallicana with Felicia mother-henning him.
When he was out of earshot, Arshes said concernedly "Gara,
I'm worried about him."
"Worried how??"
"With the power he wields, he could easily destroy us. I
don't even think Darschu could last more than five minutes
against him."
"I don't think he would destroy us, at least not
intentionally."
"How can you be so sure?"
"He seems to be a man of honor and his word. Personally, I
wish he just wasn't so naive."
"That is what has me worried. Even though he knows the
danger of this world, he seems to almost disregard it."
"Arshes, for an elf, you worry too much. His heart is good
and always will be."
"I hope so...I hope so..." Arshes replied quietly.
A few hours later found Jason inside the church studying a
scroll with Geo keeping a vigilant eye on him. After a few
moments of trying to figure out the markings on a scroll, Jason
asked "Lord Geo, do you have this in something I can read, like
English?"
"English??"
"Yeah, something I can read. This scroll looks like a
bunch of bird scratchings to me." replied Jason, indicating the
scroll.
"You can't understand it?" asked Geo, not understanding why
the scroll didn't work. The scroll should have adjusted so the
reader could read and understand it. "Sir Jazz, close your eyes
for a second and then concentrate on the scroll again."
Doing so, Jason opened his eyes once again and found the
scroll to be easily readable. "Holy..."
"I take it that it is readable now?"
"Yes, m'lord."
"Good, I shall return in a few minutes with a few other
scrolls for you to read through." replied Geo, turning and
walking through one of the many doorways of the church.
After a few minutes, Jason became so in grossed with the
scroll that he didn't see Geo drop off several more scrolls for
him to read through.
An hour later, the meal bell rang but Jason paid it little
heed, only half hearing it. Grabbing another scroll, Jason dove
in head first.
"Hungry yet??" asked a voice to his left.
"GGIIIIAAH!!!!" yelled Jason, flipping over backwards over
the bench he had been sitting on. Looking up to see a giggling
Felicia, he reprimanded, semi-sternly, "Don't EVER do that again,
please."
"Okay..." replied Felicia, trying to unsuccessfully contain
her laughter.
Shaking his head and getting back to his feet, Jason said
"Let's go eat." Grabbing her hand and heading through a doorway,
he took three steps and then stopped.
"What's wrong?" asked Felicia, practically but not quite
over her giggle fit.
Fearing the worse, Jason replied quietly "I...I'm not sure
which way to go."
Giggling renewed just as he feared, Felicia said, grabbing
his hand and taking the lead, "Follow me."
Two minutes, three staircases, and several turns later, the
two arrived in the meal chamber, breakfast an all but forgotten
memory. "It's about time."
"Darschu!!!" said Tia, looking at the white haired wizard
sternly.
"Sorry...I got lost..." replied Jason sheepishly.
"Well, take a seat so we can eat." said Gara, grinning.
"Okay..." said Jason, pulling out Felicia's chair for her,
trying to be a gentleman for a change.
During the meal, Darschu asked "So Jazz, ready to cast some
spells?"
"I don't know. I am still pretty tapped from the spell I
cast this morning..."
In unison, Geo, Darschu, Tia, and Sheila said "You already
cast a spell??!!??!!"
"Yeah, at the urgings of my two physical therapists."
replied Jason, indicating Arshes and Gara. "Is there anything
wrong with that?"
"Why did he cast the spell?" asked Geo, directly to Gara and
Arshes.
"Lord Geo, Jazz has an ailment...." tried Felicia, being cut
off by Jason.
"Lord Geo, it was my fault for not telling anyone about it
sooner. To put it simply, I couldn't breathe because of an
ailment I had."
"Had??" asked Tia, confusedly.
"Yes, m'lady. Lady Arshes taught me an inhibition spell
that would inhibit the ailment from slowing me down."
"Good choice, daughter." said Darschu, nodding and smiling.
Looking at his two physical therapists, Jason noticed Gara
looking very uncomfortable and Arshes' usually dark complexion
had gone a little reddish on her cheeks.
Chuckling softly, Jason got back to eating.
As the table was cleared of all dishware, Jazz sat in a
slightly uncomfortable silence with Felicia. Before it could get
worse, Darschu came to stand behind Jazz saying "Ready?"
"As ready as I will ever be."
"Okay, let's go do some magic."
"Lead on, teach. Though..."
"Yes?"
Leaning over to Felicia, Jason whispered a few words in her
ear. Her face brightened slightly and she nodded and headed out
the dining area.
"And what was that all about?"
"Nothing..." replied Jason, grinning mischievously and
slight blush reddening his cheeks.
Heading from the dining area towards the central courtyard,
Darschu asked, grinning evilly, "So, you like her?"
"Yeah..." replied Jason, only half hearing the question.
"You want to have sex with her??" asked Darschu, slyly.
"Yeah..." replied Jason, his voice almost dreamy until
reality hit...hard. Stopping in his tracks, Jason asked, his
face taunt, "What did you say??"
Darschu, having walked on a little further, turned and said
"You want to have sex with her, right?"
"Darschu..." started Jazz, his voice straining, "please
don't..."
"Why not?? I would. She's cute."
"You bastard." whispered Jason to himself, just as a light
went on upstairs. [He's in character, doofus. He's being true
to form. Relax.]
Breathing deeply, Jason said, a grin becoming evident,
"Darschu, I think that right now, you have your hands filled with
Tia. Besides, I believe I have a work session with her. She may
ask me a few things, especially how it went..."
"Yeah, so?"
"Do you want me to give her a good report or a bad report??"
asked Jazz, grinning evilly.
"..."
"And yes, Darschu, I would like to get to know her better,
but..." finished Jazz at whisper levels.
"But??"
"Since I'm not from these here parts, that is one strike
against me. Secondly, for all I know she could be promised to
another. That's strike two. Strike three is...I don't know how
she feels towards me...and I'm not sure I want to know."
Walking along the corridor once again, Darschu replied
"Jazz, she likes you. What are you afraid of? Why do you think
she has spent most of her free time with you?"
"I don't know...maybe because I saved her life...I don't
know."
Darschu shook his head in exasperation. [So powerful, yet
so naive.] "Jazz, make time for her. I don't think you will be
going anywhere for a while."
"Darschu, I...I..." tried Jazz, getting flustered.
"What??"
"I...I...ayi-yi-yi." he finally Alpha Fived.
"Let's start out simply. Would you like to get to know her
better?"
"Yes..."
"You, in some way, care for her?"
"Yes..."
"You want her to bear you children?"
"Yes..." replied Jason, quietly, before realizing the
question. "DARSCHU!!!!!" he yelled, once again, stopping in his
tracks.
"What??" asked Darschu, impishly. Looking back at Jazz, and
suddenly not liking what he saw. [Easy to set off. Time to get
outta here.] thought Darschu, noticing Jazz's flaming red
streaked blue aura. Launching from the tunnel mouth, Darschu
came to a stop, hovering above the courtyard, waiting...
waiting... Five minutes past slowly.
The sound of shuffling feet brought Darschu back to reality.
Not wanting to take his attention off the tunnel mouth, Darschu
landed and asked, commandedly, "Yes?"
Smiling evilly, Jazz thought with a chuckle [Just as I
hoped. Now for a little fun.] Switching on the vocal range,
"Wat ere yoo wantin' for, m'lord?" Jazz irish brooged.
"Someone..."
"Who?" asked Jazz, noticing Tia enter the courtyard.
Putting a finger to his lips, Jazz motioned to Darschu's back,
making sneaking motions towards him.
"Someone I think I made quite angry."
Clearing his throat softly, Jazz said, in his normal tones,
"So, Darschu, ready..."
"EEEEYYYYYAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!" jumped Darschu, clearing nine
feet in height and eight yards distance. Landing hard, Darschu
turned to see not only Jazz but also Tia succumbing to fits of
extreme laughter.
"Not funny."
"Darschu, you should've seen your face." tried Jazz,
breaking into a new fit of laughter.
After a few minutes, Jason managed to stop laughing.
"Darschu..."
"Yes?" replied Darschu, trying to look indignant.
"Please, from now on, please don't try to make me angry.
It's one side I sometimes have a little trouble controlling.
Okay?"
"Okay."
"Well, shall we begin." Looking to his left, Jazz caught a
glimpse of blue hair. [Oh no.]
"Jazz, after you are done here, please come to the church."
said Tia, finally able to get the giggles out of her system.
Bowing slightly, Jason replied "Aye, m'lady." Tia promptly
turned and left, heading for the church and still shaking from
the occasional giggle.
Watching Tia leave, Darschu turned to his would-be pupil,
saying "The first spell every spellcaster learns is to create of
globe of light."
"Okay." nodded Jazz.
"But we will skip since you are casting larger spells
already."
"But..."
"Focus on that rock by the battlement." continued Darschu,
pointing at a squarish rock, not having heard Jazz. "Imagine it
exploding and follow this exact wording." Darschu launched right
into the Halloween spell. Jazz recognized it after the first
three syllables.
Darschu grinned broadly as the rock he targeted blew apart
with a great deal of pyrotechnics. Looking at Jazz's target, the
smile soon became a frown. Looking back at Jazz, Darschu found
him kneeling on the ground, his hands spread out and his head
bowed. Wheezing, Jazz gasped "Not...enough energy... Can't...do
it."
Walking over to a nearby water skin, Darschu handed it to
Jazz who drank from it readily.
After a few moments, Jazz got back to his feet, saying "I
guess the hallway incident drained more out of me than I
thought."
Doing a quick energy scan, Darschu looked very much confused
at the low energy readings he got from Jazz. "Jazz, where did
that power come from? Before, in the hallway, you had more than
enough energy to level this place? Where is it?"
"I don't know....Unless..."
"Yes?"
"Okay, this will sound strange but try to follow my
thinking, okay?"
"Okay..."
"This entire society seems to be more liberal than where I
come from."
"Liberal?"
"More free...hmm...example, your ogling of anything female.
Here, it is kinda expected from you. If you tried that where I
come from, not only would you get slapped, you would most likely
end up in the dungeon."
"Okay...now how is this affecting you?"
"Where I was before I arrived here was very conservative.
Change wasn't something they took lightly nor did often. They
were very traditional in everything they did. Okay, another
example. You know the outfits that Tia and Arshes usually wear,"
Getting a nod from Darschu, Jazz continued "would be considered
too liberal and possibly only worn during the summer time if at
all. This sort of thing had been an influence on me for the
first 18 and half years of my life."
Still seeing a slightly puzzled look on Darschu's face, Jazz
tried a new approach. "Okay. My upbringing put a vast limit on
my scope of thought. Think of a dungeon cell with only one way
out and sometimes isn't there. My thoughts would have fit in a
block the size of the stone you told me to target. Your thought
is like the great hall here in Metallicana. A lot of open space
and many ways of going in and out."
Getting a nod of understanding from Darschu, Jazz ace
ventura-ed "Allll-rriiiighty then."
"What about when you get angry?"
"Okay, this is where it gets tricky. Strong emotions,
especially my anger, fuel my sub-conscious mind, breaking down
those prison walls. Unfortunately, an angry person with a lot of
free thought is frowned upon by my upbringing. Because magic and
this realm is new to me, it has me slightly scared out of my
mind."
"Why are you scared? You don't show it."
"Again where I come from, magic doesn't exist. Reason I
don't look frightened is that I adapt easy to new situations and
have always wished to be able to do something. Besides if I
dwelled on something that was new and radically different than
what I am used to, I would have most likely gone insane by now.
Again, it sort of goes with my usual RPG character..."
"RPG?" interrupted Darschu.
"Oh boy...RPG...It means a role-playing game. Simply put,
it's a game of "let's pretend". A person would take a role of
another person, either from long ago, or someone who might be,
and tries to portray in a given situation. Darschu, it would be
as if you would try to portray someone you're not, like a kitchen
aid, but without actually doing it. In these games, I tended to
stay away from magic based people. I would always take a person
who could do tech or build things even though I personally would
have a clue as to how to build the things my characters would."
Continuing on, Jazz said "Let's say, in a game similar to
Metallicana, I would be a blacksmith or a weaponsmith, not a
mage, or sorcerer. I'm just about out of words, so can we just
get back to learning magic?"
Nodding, Darschu reorganized his teaching patterns, still
not quite understanding everything Jazz had said. After two
hours of multiple attempts, Jazz stumbled away, having tapped
reserves he didn't know he had.
Stopping at a fountain, Jason splashed water on his face,
trying to get revived. Sighing heavily, Jazz continued on to the
church. Entering quietly, Jazz strode up the center isle,
looking for Tia.
Seeing him, Tia called, from a small side room, "Jazz, over
here."
Entering the side room, Jazz bowed and asked "How are you?"
"I am well. And you?"
"I am...well enough. What is to be thy role of the
enlightenment of this ignorant fool?"
Giggling softly, Tia replied "Jazz stop. Your other teacher
has yet to arrive. Please take a seat at the table."
"Other teacher?" asked Jazz, taking a seat at the table Tia
indicated.
"Yes, and here she is now."
Looking back towards the doorway, Jazz's jaw hit the floor.
"Princess." acknowledged Tia with a nod.
"Tia Yohko." replied Sheila.
Turning towards Jazz, both saw his head shift between the
two of them rapidly, many times. Imagine a spectator at a tennis
match.
"Problem, Sir Jazz?"
"Ummm...mmm...nnnn..." faulted Jazz, as his mind tried to
re-orientate itself. Rebooting, Jazz replied, with a blush, "Ah
no...just didn't expect...ayi-yi-yi..."
"So, shall we begin." said Tia.
"Wha...what will you two be instructing me on?" asked Jazz,
his voice fully returned to normal.
"Social and court etiquette skills. You seem to have some
but need a great deal of refining." replied Sheila.
"Ayi-yi-yi..." Jazz Alpha Fived once again. He noticed that
he seemed to be doing that a lot lately and it wasn't gonna stop
anytime soon.
After an hour, Jazz asked for a break. "Why?" asked Sheila,
looking at Jazz with concern.
"Information overload. Too much, too soon, too fast."
replied Jazz, holding his head in fear of an imminent explosion.
"Okay...I guess we can quit." said Tia.
"I will see you both tomorrow at the same time here." said
Sheila, packing up the scrolls she had brought with her. "Also,
Jazz, do you have anything planned for tonight?"
"Not yet. Why do you ask??"
"My father would like to meet you."
"Okay. Would after supper do?" replied Jazz, hesitantly,
wondering where someone would have to go to get an aspirin.
Sheila nodded. "Yes. He would like very much to meet you."
Jazz blushed slightly at the thought of meeting royalty.
"Okay..."
"See you at supper, Jazz." said Tia as both ladies exited
the room.
"Tia, one more moment of your time, please."
"Yes, Jazz?"
"I will most likely need your father's permission,
but...could I go down to where the tomes are stored?"
"Why?"
"Well, Tia, I would like to possibly get a few tomes to
study for tonight, see what you have available, and just be where
there happens to be a lot of written text."
"I don't see a problem with that, daughter. I will take him
down there myself." came a voice from the doorway.
Turning to see Geo, Jazz bowed, saying "Thank you, Lord
Geo."
Following Geo down several flights of stairs and along
several corridors, Lord Geo and Jazz came to a LARGE wooden door.
Large as in great Blue Whale large. Putting a key in an equally
large lock, Geo opened the door with a slight shove. Jazz winced
as the odor of preserving fluid washed over him.
Stepping inside the doorway, Jazz reveled at the amount of
tomes in the space before him. Having always been fond of
libraries, Jazz had just entered his idea of printed word heaven.
Imagine, if you will, a high school gymnasium with a built in
track around a full sized basketball court. Now triple that to
get an idea of the room size.
"Geo..." started Jazz in awe.
"Yes?"
"Thank you..." said Jazz softly.
"For what?" asked a very confused Geo.
"For making me a very happy boy. Is there some paper and
writing tools handy? I have a feeling I am going to want to take
some notes."
"There." replied Geo, pointing to a small table inside the
entrance with what Jazz had asked for.
"Ah yes..." Jazz said softly, unable to take his eyes off
the amount of printed material. As Jazz moved among the stacks,
he barely heard Geo's statement that supper would be in about an
hour. Moving among the bookcases, Jazz noted that several of the
books actually still had bindings while rolled up scrolls filled
the rest of the space. [Steamology 101 by Prof. Steamhead??
1001 Uses For Duct Tape by A. Macgyver?? How to Build a Power
Armor From Household Items by G. Diggers?? Quantum Physics
Related to Spectral Capture and Containment by E. Spengler??
What is up with these titles??] Jazz thought marking down
potential volumes to read. Taking about a dozen bound texts,
Jason situated himself down at a table, adjusting the reading
lamp, and dug into them excitedly.
One hour ten minutes later up in the dining room, everyone
waited for one person to arrive. "Where is he?" asked an
impatient Tia.
[He can't still be down in the tome storage?] asked Geo of
himself, kind of in disbelief.
"After he finished with you, Tia, where did he go?" asked a
hungry Gara.
Standing up from the table, Geo said before Tia could
respond "I think I know where he is. I will be back shortly."
[That way I can also have a word with him about being late.]
thought Geo, grimly.
"Lord Geo, may I come with you?" asked Arshes.
"Why?"
"Just in case he doesn't show up to one of my sessions with
him. He needs to be taught what it means to be late."
"Okay...anyone else?" asked Geo hestitently.
Everyone at the table nodded affirmative, Darschu with a
slightly increasing mischievous grin. Following Geo down to the
tome storage, the entire troop came to the giant open door. The
lamps on the walls gave a soft illuminance to the room.
"Anyone see him?" asked Tia, her imagination going wild with
what she would tell him.
A resounding negative came up from the group. "Is that glow
moving?" asked Felicia, indicating a low lying glow that seemed
to be moving in straight line in the middle of the room.
"Yeah, it is. Let's go get him. I'm hungry." said Gara,
starting to head towards the now stationary glow.
"No." commented Darschu with an evil grin. Getting several
questioning gazes, Darschu continued with an evil grin "He has to
learn not to be late. I have an idea."
"Darschu, what are you thinking of?" asked Tia, her voice
promising retribution for anything too far out of the ordinary.
"Just a little illusion spell. Who wants in?" asked
Darschu, his grin infecting practically everyone of the group.
Sheila with an evil grin, a horrifying concept. *shudder*
Gara and Arshes were in automatically. Felicia, Tia, and
Sheila joined in with a little hesitancy. Geo opted to guard
the door. "Okay, I picked these images up from Jason's mind
yesterday so they should have a great deal of meaning to him."
said Darschu as he cast the spell.
Felicia became a catlike girl with enlarged clawed hands and
feet with white fir pin striping. Gara's appearance shifted to
an even larger gray skinned male with bolts sticking from his
neck. Sheila shifted into a blue Chinese dress with her hair in
buns and spiked bracelets on her wrists. Tia looked down to see
a form fitting green leotard and green markings on her legs.
Moving her head to look at the rest of the group, she noticed a
long blond braid. Arshes noticed that her hands almost dragged
on the floor in giant metal gauntlets. Otherwise, she found
herself to be wearing a red, long sleeved Chinese dress with
trousers. Darschu noted that he wore a red karate gi with a red
headband holding back his hair.
"These are images in Jazz's mind?" asked Sheila with
disbelief.
"Yeah. Now let's go teach our student a lesson about being
late. Especially for a meal." said Darschu with a grin.
Finding him seated at a table among several tall stacks of
books, all six people surrounded him without making a sound.
Jason "awoke" from his research when someone before him cleared
their throat. Looking up...looking up further...looking up even
further, Jason's eyes went wide at Victor's face under lit by his
reading lamp. Falling over backwards, Jason's opened his eyes
after blinking out the pain to see the faces of Cammy, Felicia,
Chun-Li, Lei-Lei, Victor, and Ken reaching for him.
[ESCAPE NOW!!!!!] screamed his mind. Scrambling from the
chair between Felicia and Cammy, Jazz ran at full tilt away form
the crowd. Looking behind to see the six fighters following him,
Jazz completely missed a small table in the narrow isle.
Rolling with the slam into his legs, Jazz's mind noted the
pain as he searched for a place to hide. Finding a small nitch,
Jazz rested as he mentally assessed the damage and the entire
situation. [Both thighs hurt, back hurting, left arm sore.] his
mind reported. Another part of his mind generated another list
of the situation:
A)Darkstalker and Street Fighter II characters are after me.
B)None of the above could exist here.
C)I am most likely late for something.*his stomach had just
gurgled in hunger* Late for dinner. Check.
D)Six to one odds against me.
Options to handle.
A)Surrender.
B)Fight back.
[Option B selected] thought Jazz, smiling. He also noted
that he had a fair amount of energy. Stepping out from his
nitch, Jazz heard "There he is." and took off in a dead run the
opposite direction.
Getting into a corner, Jason batted the nearest wall mounted
glows away, making the corner pitch black. [Perfect. Illusion
101 has been convened.] thought Jazz with a chuckle as the
necessary image entered his mind.
Victor, Ken, and Felicia stepped cautiously into the
darkened area, alert to any sign of danger. The trio stepped
back involuntarily as two glowing green spots appeared in the
darkened alcove and seemed to move towards them.
The nearest glow gave a brief hint at the twin horned snout
of the large, four legged figure approaching the trio.
Taking up defensive positions, Ken, Victor, and Felicia
waited as the rough skinned beast came to a stop ten feet away
from them. Suddenly it spoke. "Rhinox...MAXIMIZE!!!!" The
beast reared back to reveal an armored figure holding twin large
boxes with multi-tube opening that began spinning rapidly.
"Your choice." roared the figure, looking down at the trio.
Raising their hands, each person's illusion faded to reveal
Darschu, Felicia, and Gara, each with resigned looks on their
faces.
Chuckling softly, Jazz canceled his illusion, saying "I
take it that I am late for dinner?"
"Yeah, about twenty minutes now." replied Darschu, not the
happiest about being beaten on the illusion front.
"Sorry. Let me go get the others and I'll meet you at the
main door."
"Just hurry, we're all hungry." said Gara as the trio headed
for the main entrance.
"Okay. Won't be long." said Jazz, wandering off and
plotting.
Coming upon Cammy, Jazz backed out of sight, casting yet
another illusion. Jazz noticed he didn't change all that much
except in clothes and a war hammer on one hip and a roll of duct
tape on another. Chuckling, Jazz stepped back into her line of
sight, asking "Looking for me?"
"C'mon, Jazz. It's late and we're hungry."
"Not quite, m'lady. First you must defeat me."
"Jazz..."
"DUCT TAPE, SURROUND!!!!!" called Jazz, as the duct tape on
his hip unwound to surround and wrap up Cammy. "Do you give?"
Nodding quickly, Jazz canceled both illusions with a
dramatic wave of his hand. "Jazz, that wasn't nice." responded
Tia.
"All's fair in love and jokes. Join Gara, Darschu, and
Felicia at the door please. I still have a little hunting yet to
do." said Jazz with a grin.
Tia sighed, heading for the main entrance.
Climbing a ladder, Jazz managed to spot a Chun-Li-like
character after sitting and waiting for a few moments. Chuckling
softly, Jazz latched onto the one image he had used to defeat
Chun-Li the first time he played the Street Fighter II video
game on the Sega Genesis.
Chun-Li spun as the words "AIR SMASH!!!!" responded above
her to see a large man land beside her. Unfortunately, her spin
put her right into a waiting bearhug. Grabbing her about the
waist and locking his arms together on the small of her back, the
sumo said "Give in or be crushed." To prove his point, the sumo
applied a little pressure.
"I give." squeaked Sheila, canceling her illusion.
Seeing who he had in a bearhug, Jazz canceled his in turn
and set her down gently, blushing brightly. "Sorry, I thought
you were Arshes."
"Jazz, don't worry about it. You wouldn't have crushed me,
would you?"
"Never. I will now collect one Arshes Nei and we can go
eat."
"Okay, just don't take too long."
"Yes, princess. Be back soon." Turning over into a
different tone, Jazz finished "Be vewy, vewy quiet, I'm hunting
an Awshes. Hehehehehehe."
Giggling, Sheila headed for the main door as Jazz
disappeared into the stacks. As he looked for Arshes, his mind
fed him an update. [Damage almost completely repaired. ETA of
completion: 1 minute.]
"Oh bother," he whispered to himself, "gonna have to make
this quick."
Coming up behind the last illusional figure, Jazz tapped her
on the shoulder, while standing behind the opposite shoulder.
When Lei-lei turned to look over her left shoulder, Jazz
attempted to stay behind her, out of sight.
Quickly and quietly, Jazz reached into his pouch searching
out his pocket pliers. Opening it so the needlenose pliers were
exposed, he placed it against the small of her back. "Well, all
right, pilgrim, reach for the sky." Jazz drawled, attempting a
decent John Wayne impersonation.
Lei-Lei eeped, thinking either a sword or a spear had been
put to her back, and raised her hands. "Now march for the door."
continued Jazz, keeping up the impersonation, trying hard not to
laugh.
Stepping close to the table he had been at originally, Jazz
picked up a few pieces of paper with notes to study for later.
Shaking his head, Jazz finally said "Lady Arshes, you can cancel
the illusion."
"Okay..." replied a voice behind him.
[Oh crap. Fell for the fake illusion bit.] Jazz thought as
he turned to see the real Arshes Nei. The illusion of Lei-Lei
slowly derezzed back to nothingness. "It looks like you got me,
Lady Arshes. Now, can we go eat?"
"Yes, now you get moving."
"Yes, ma'am." replied Jazz, grabbing the last of his notes,
heading for the door with Arshes behind him.
Getting to the door, Tia said, with slight disgust, "It's
about time."
"Sorry," tried Jazz, sheepishly, "I got involved with all
the scrolls down here and lost track of time."
"Just don't let it happen again." reprimanded Arshes.
"It won't..." whispered Jazz.
"Let's go eat." said Gara, glad to finally be able to go
eat.
Brightening up, Jazz said "Okay." His hunger making itself
known as his stomach gurgled at the thought of food.
Five minutes later, serious noshing of food began. Over
dinner though, Jazz mulled over a small problem he found with an
initial design he had for a set of armor.
Noticing this, Felicia asked him quietly what was on his
mind, that it was causing his brow to furrow occasionally.
"Nothing...just working out a problem...nothing major
though..." replied Jazz quietly. Glancing over at the smirking
Darschu, Jazz saw the same smirk on Darschu's face that he had
this past afternoon. Thinking back on the conversation, Jazz
blushed slightly, sitting back up straight and finishing dinner
quickly.
Heading back to his room, Jazz read over his notes and
looked over his initial drawing of his armor idea. [Best have
something as back up.] he thought, making a correction to the
design.
In the middle of a power routing problem, a knocking
reverberated off Jazz's door. Climbing from his chair, Jazz
walked over to the door, answering it. Seeing Princess Sheila,
Jazz asked "Time to visit your father?"
Seeing her nod, Jazz walked over to the vanity, picking up a
comb. Running it though his wavy mop, Jazz ran a hand over his
chin, making sure everything had been shaved off. That morning
it had tried for the first time shave with a straight razor.
After he had finished, he was thankful for his healing ability.
Looking back towards Sheila, Jazz dusted himself and strode
towards her. "Okay, let's go." he said, trying to hide the
nervousness ineffectively.
Walking through several hallways, Princess Sheila noticed
Jazz getting more and more nervous. "Jazz, relax."
"M'lady, I can't. This is the first time I met a real king
before. I can't help but be nervous."
"Sir Jazz, just remember that he is a regular person."
"Uh-huh. NOT!! He could decide whether I live or die here.
I don't want to make a fool of myself."
Reaching a richly ornate door, Jazz paled and swallowed
audibly. Sheila knocked on the door after casting a concerned
glance back towards Jazz. Hearing a full voiced yet some what
weak sounding "Come in.", Sheila pushed open the door while Jazz
tried valiantly to remain conscious.
Having to pull Jazz in after her, Sheila approached the bed
her father was now confined to. "Father, I would like to
introduce you to someone, the person who helped save the life of
Talon's daughter."
At the mention of Talon's daughter, Jazz blushed brightly as
he stepped out from behind Sheila. Bowing from the waist, Jazz's
mind defaulted and his mouth opened. "M'lord, I am Jason, Son of
Jens, best known as Jazz. I am but a humble servant willing to
do his best to protect this kingdom as best I can from the evil
that threatens it and the people therein."
Sheila's father looked at the bowed young man, grinning
slightly at the nervousness Jazz must be feeling. Sheila, on the
other hand, looked at Jazz with astonishment and slightly aghast.
Astonished that he was able to say all that with one breath.
Aghast that he actually launched into it.
Straightening up, Jazz blushed brighter, looking at the two
royalty and mumbling "Sorry...got nervous."
"Jazz, pull up a chair." said the king, before Sheila could
react. Sheila looked between her father and the chair fetching
Jazz several times.
Grasping her father's hand, Sheila leaned forward,
whispering in his ear "Be nice."
Laying his other hand on top of hers, the king said "I will.
Now leave us."
Seeing Sheila walking towards the door, Jazz paused, looking
at her with a mix of fright, concern, and nervousness. "Jazz, he
wants to have a private conversation with you." she said, seeing
his look. Somehow, it didn't comfort him.
Looking back towards the king, Jazz continued to carry the
chair to the side of the bed. Jazz sat down in the chair, trying
to take up as little space as possible.
Seeing Jazz's discomfort, the king shook his head slightly,
saying "Sir Jazz, you must relax. I'm sure my daughter told you
that I am a regular person."
"Yes, she did. It's just that..."
"Just what?"
"This may sound silly, but this is the first time in my life
that I've had to deal with and be so close to royalty."
"Jazz, I maybe the king, but under this crown, I am a normal
man, with all the frailties there of."
"Sorry...it's just that this will take a little getting use
to." said Jazz, relaxing slightly in the chair.
Laying his hand, the king said "Now tell me about yourself
and how you came to Metallicana." For the next hour, Jazz and
Sheila's father talked, Jazz steadily becoming more at ease in
his presence. When the king yawned suddenly, Jazz excused
himself, heading for his room.
As the sun set, Jazz climbed into bed as the day finally
caught up with him. Jason pulled the covers up around him,
marveling at the softness. Breathing deeply, he marveled at
finally being free of his inhaler. He also caught brief hint of
perfume in the air. [Hmm...smells relaxing...but somehow
familiar...hmmm...] he thought as sleep finally asserted
it's claim on him.
Deep in the shadows of the room, a long haired shadow moved
with all the grace of a cat.
Chapter 5 Where's my hammer?
"Don't force it. Get a bigger hammer."
-Anonymous
"Wha?? Whoa! Nice kitty! Good kitty. Have a missile."
Daver-Undocumented Features #3
The next three weeks past like a small blur. His training
sessions with Gara and Arshes were starting to produce noticeable
physical changes the Jazz noticed. Geo, Tia, and Sheila drilled
history, social etiquette, and few other things into him.
Darschu still pondered at the radical different readings he got
from Jazz during their Magic 101' sessions.
During the third week, Jazz even got up enough gumption to
ask Arshes to teach him how to play the lute. Arshes hesitantly
agreed since few people knew she played an instrument. However,
Jazz's fingers just couldn't adjust to the fingerings. Even with
his improved flexibility and strength, Jazz still found things he
still couldn't quite do.
With his lack of knowledge of metalsmithing, Jazz asked
Talon to tutor him a few nights a week on how to use a foundry
properly and efficiently. Jazz's earliest projects weren't the
best to look at. The best example would have been the sword that
Jazz tried to forge. It might have made a good sword if not for
the rough grooved edges, the bend at the half way point, and it's
tendency to lean to the right. Talon showed him ways to re-
refine the stuff that Jazz worked on to make it better. Jazz's
secondary project, a metal 'V' meant for throwing seemed to work
a lot better. Felicia looked on, offering the occasional bit of
advice or encouragement when needed.
At first, Jazz had been hesitant to have dealings with the
young woman. But that incident in his bedroom after his first
day of training, Jazz shook his head, wishing he could have
handled it better. Thinking back, he couldn't help but chuckle a
little bit.
Felicia gazed at the young man from the shadows as he fell
asleep. Her mind once again warned her about her way of saying
thank you to this young man, who had saved her life. She wanted
to do something special for him.
Making sure he was asleep, Felicia slipped from the shadows
and into his bed, curling up against him. Feeling safe being
close to him, Felicia fell into a restful sleep.
Waking a few hours later, Jazz felt a hot stuffiness about
the bedding. Attempting to get rid of a layer, Jazz's sleep
enshrouded mind took in the sleeping form of a lightly clad
Felicia with little response. Getting back inside the bedding,
Jazz's mind came fully online as his head hit the pillow.
Lifting the bedding, Jazz confirmed what he had seen earlier.
Screaming mentally, Jazz asked himself [What is she doing in
here? In my bed? With me in the bed? AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!]
Trying to calm his racing heart, Jazz made up a list of
options. Having always made lists, this had come second nature
to him.
Option 1.) Wake her and tell her to leave.
Option 2.) Scream loudly.
Option 3.) Take the last blanket and sleep on the floor.
Option 4.) Faint.
Option 5.) Go back to sleep and hope nothing happens.
Option 6.) Good question on what to do.
Climbing slowly from the bed, Jazz tiptoed over to the
window, looking up into the night sky, hoping an answer would
present itself. Sighing, Jazz continued to ponder this when his
ears picked up something from his bed.
"...no...don't touch me....someone help me please...help me
please..." murmured Felicia in her sleep.
[She must be having a nightmare.] thought Jason, trying to
calm his nerves. Walking back over to the bed, Jason laid his
right hand on her shoulder lightly, calming her nightmares.
Shaking his head, Jazz brought one of the chairs in the room
over to the bed and kept a silent watch over the sleeping form in
his bed. Wishing he could be in the bed, he contented himself to
watch over her. Not long and he was dozing in the chair.
Felicia awoke a short time later to find Jazz no longer in
the bed. Looking around frantically hoping she hadn't scared him
off, she found him sleeping in a chair next to the bed. [Jazz,
what are you afraid of?] she thought silently as she climbed from
the bed, reaching for the blanket Jazz had stripped off earlier.
Hearing the bed creak, Jazz woke up to see Felicia reaching
for the blanket he had taken off earlier. "Felicia, what are
you doing here in my bed?" he asked softly.
Startled by Jazz's voice, Felicia tried "I...I...I was cold
and wanted someone...uummmm..."
Taking her hand in his own, Jazz looked into her eyes and
asked gently "Felicia, why? Don't you have your own bed?"
"I feel....safe, in your presence..." replied Felicia
carefully and softly, her head downcast.
Shaking his head in almost disbelief, "What would these
people say if they found us together in the same bed?" asked
Jazz, trying to sort out his own feelings.
"I....I...don't know..."
"Felicia, could you..." Jazz tried, his own mind rebelling
against itself.
Fearing the worse, "...leave?" finished Felicia. At his
hesitant nod, Felicia knew that her worst fear had happened: that
she had made him angry and he no longer wanted another to do with
her.
Noticing tears beginning a trek down her cheeks as she
climbed from the bed to leave. Jazz's heart finally made itself
known. "Felicia, its not that..."
Felicia looked back him, trying to hold in a sob. "I...I
care for you and this just caught me off guard. I'm sorry..."
finished Jazz, turning away, his head bowing.
Having her hope restored but knowing she must leave, Felicia
said quietly "I should have asked..."
"Do you...truly feel safe in my presence?"
Seeing her slow nod, Jazz came up with an option which all
his moral upbringing rebelled against, threatening to take
complete control if he followed through with it. Jazz completely
ignored his conservative upbringing when he said "Fel-chan,
please stay."
Smiling again, Felicia nodded. Wordlessly, they both
climbed back into his bed. Wrapping his arm around her, Felicia
cuddled up against Jazz with a sigh of contentment. "Only for
this night, okay..." rumbled Jazz softly.
Feeling her nod, Jazz shook his head as the sounds of short
shallow breathing reached his ears. [Now if I can sleep...] he
thought as this body temperature rose to slightly uncomfortable
levels. Being a very warm person temperature wise, Jazz found he
could wear shorts in the late Fall/early Winter when other people
had to wear pants against the cold. Chuckling at the time, he
had put it off as his Central Wisconsin cold weather training.
Dozing off and on repeatedly, the morning came just a little
too soon for his liking.
Thinking over the incident, Jazz chuckled as each of his
teachers commented on the tired look in his eyes. His mind
slowly drifted over to his current project. He had the knowledge
to build what he needed but not the facilities. [Maybe I'm
thinking too large.] Chuckling softly, he muttered softly, a
line a field had hooked him on, "Gotta get a Gundam. More power.
Arr Arr Arr Arr." He had been trying for the last two days to
get the power levels up to where he needed them but nothing
seemed to work. The crystals always seemed to loose power just
as it came to full power.
Shrugging mentally, Jazz noticed a certain man he wanted to
talk with, walking towards the soldiers' barracks. Sir Crodyn.
[I hope this will go better than our first meeting...]
Heading down to the soldiers' barracks, Jazz inquired where
Sir Crodyn was. Getting directions several times, Jazz tracked
him down, as he gazed at the night sky.
"Sir Crodyn." said Jazz, experimentally.
Turning to see the young man who had defeated him a while
ago, Sir Crodyn turned back away from Jazz and said brusquely
"What do YOU want?"
"I...I was..."
"What?" interrupted Sir Crodyn.
"Sir Crodyn, I wondered if..."
"What does the hero of the Battle of Antrathrax want of me?"
interrupted Crodyn again.
Without hesitation, Jazz's anger came to forefront and spoke
"Dammit Crodyn, I'm trying to settle things between us. I prefer
to make friends than enemies but fine, I'm gone."
Turning to go, Jazz heard "Do you truly mean what you say?"
"Yes. Enemies are made too easy. I just wanted to make
amends with you because..."
"Because why?" asked a curious Crodyn.
"I can't shake a feeling that it will be up to us to defend
Metallicana someday in the future."
"What do you mean?"
Looking back towards Crodyn, Jazz replied "I have been
getting these strange feelings, just a general sense of unease.
I don't know what to make of it."
"Have you mentioned these...feelings to Lord Geo?"
"No...I didn't want to trouble him with it."
"Maybe you should."
"Tomorrow. But tonight, do we part friends or enemies?"
asked Jazz, looking sincerely at Crodyn, holding forth his arm.
Taking his arm, Crodyn said "Friends."
"Thank you. Also, how are the repairs on your armor
coming?" asked Jazz, knowing the damage it had suffered from a
recent skirmish with a couple of orcs.
"It's coming slowly. Those orcs damaged it well. The
blacksmiths are saying it will be out of action for several
days, possibly up to a week."
Nodding, Jazz commented "Oy. Not good. It's a key part to
several of Metallicana's defenses."
"Yeah. If you will excuse me, Sir Jazz, I wish to retire
for the night."
"No problem. Good night, and just call me Jazz. None of
this "Sir" stuff, okay?"
"Okay, S...Jazz. Good night." said Crodyn, turning and
going into the soldiers' barracks.
Watching him go, Jazz began to grin mischievously as an
idea entered his mind. [I may not be able to build my own armor,
but maybe I can...]
The sounds of clanging from the forge area resounded long
into the night. Grabbing a few soldiers to help carry and re-
assemble the damaged armor, Jazz worked steadily, doing something
what he always wanted to do; work tech. With the soldiers' help,
he managed to get most of the repairs done before three in the
morning by his reconning. Arshes, having been woken up by the
sounds of a forge, watched from the shadows as Jazz stumbled back
into his room well into the early hours of the morning.
[Now, what have you been doing?] pondered Arshes, turning to
go back to her own room.
The next morning, Jazz awoke at the sound of the breakfast
bell ringing. Cursing slightly about his late night activities,
Jazz hurriedly got dressed and ran down to breakfast.
Heading out to the practice field, Jazz did a few warm up
katas had been taught. The sparring with Gara and Arshes early
in the morning progressed well enough. At least he wasn't
getting as many frequent flier miles as when he first started.
He also confirmed another choice he had made. The training
had progressed to include melee weapons. Trying the sword, Jazz
found he did acceptably well. But when it came to war hammers
and staffs, Jazz excelled exponentially. This also brought
another moral he held. He never wanted to intentionally kill
another person, just take them out of the battle.
This morning proved to be a little different. Trying a new
tactic, Gara and Arshes attacked Jazz at the same time.
"Hey, no fair!" tried Jazz, only to be silenced with a
stronger attack. Dodging out of the way, Jazz grabbed his
customary staff, holding it at the ready.
[Warning!!] screamed his mind, as he noticed that Arshes and
Gara were edging apart to stand on either side of him.
[Gotta keep moving.] Jazz thought as a lesson from a book
made itself known. Jazz did his best to keep Gara and Arshes in
the same viewing arch.
Suddenly a hard impact made itself known between Jazz's
shoulder blades. Pitched forward into the dirt, Jazz looked
where the attack came from and saw Tia with another rock in her
hands, tossing it up and down.
Before he could think further, Gara and Arshes pressed
their attacks on his prone position. Rolling to the left, Jazz
managed to stay ahead of their twin attacks until he rolled into
a sword buried into the ground.
Bringing his legs over his head in a reverse somersault to
come into a small crouch, Jazz waited for their next attack.
Seeing another projectile headed his way, Jazz felt a brushing
impact as he tried to dodge from it's flight path.
Going on the offensive, Jazz whirled the staff in a tight
formation of moves, moving towards Gara. Stopping suddenly, Jazz
turned and threw the staff at Arshes, stopping her ambush.
Drawing out one of this twin war hammers, he hit the flat of
Gara's blade as hard as he could.
Getting the desired result, namely Gara's arm going slightly
numb, Jazz backed away from the trio, trying frantically to come
up with a battle plan. Reaching into the back of his belt, Jazz
drew out an experimental weapon he had built during his first
lessons with Talon. Dodging several more stones hurled by Tia,
Jazz let fly. Flying true to form, the metal "V" came around and
severed several small branches over Tia's head before returning
to Jazz's waiting hand.
Finding herself in a shower of tree foliage, Tia screamed
and dodged. [Okay, distance attacks taken out. Now for the
inclose pair.] thought Jazz, pulling out his other war hammer.
Arshes and Gara watched in slight amazement as Jazz
effectively defeated Tia.
Attacking Gara head on proved to be Jazz's downfall.
Locking him up, Gara gave Arshes the opportunity she needed to
disarm Jazz with the staff he had thrown moments before.
Sighing, Jazz took the defeat. "Jazz, what was that thing
you threw at Tia?" asked Gara, intrigued by the device.
"It's called a boomerang. If thrown properly, it can
achieve the desired results. I had practiced tossing that thing
more times than I can count before I opted to use it today. I
lucked out that it did what I needed it to." said Jazz,
collecting his myriad of weapons.
"Interesting. Can you make more?"
Thinking for a few moments, Jazz replied "Sure. Shouldn't
be a problem. Just need the time to do it."
"How goes the work on your armor?" asked Arshes, after a few
moments, knowing the time he had put towards that project.
Sighing, Jazz replied "It's not going as good as I hoped.
The books I followed say the design should work but I just can't
keep enough energy in it to keep it running. I guess I gotta try
something else."
Just then, a servant from the soldiers' barracks approached
the quartet. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Sir Jazz."
Pointing at him, Gara said "That's him."
"Thank you." Turning to Jazz, the servant continued "Sir,
your presence is required in the forge now."
Muttering softly, Jazz mumbled "oh boy." Speaking up, he
said "I will be there shortly."
"What is this about?" asked Tia, finally getting the twig
attack cleaned off herself.
"All I was told is that Sir Jazz would know what it was
about when I asked him to come."
"Jazz, what did you do now?" asked Tia, turning to glare at
the suspect.
"Nothing...too serious. Hopefully I didn't mess up too
badly." shrugged Jazz.
"Please hurry. Sir Crodyn asked me to have you hurry."
"Okay. Lead on." said Jazz, cleaning the last of the dirt
off his clothes. Arshes, Gara, and Tia followed on his heels.
"Jazz, does this have to do with your getting back to your
room late last night?" asked Arshes.
"How...how did you know about that?? Never mind, I think it
does."
Ten minutes later, the forge loomed before them. Walking
in, Jazz noticed a slightly perturbed Sir Crodyn and other
blacksmiths gazing at the armor.
"We're here. What did he do now?" asked Gara, indicating
Jazz.
Seeing him, Sir Crodyn shouted "Jazz, what the God's name
did you do to my armor?"
"I fixed it..." replied Jazz sheepishly.
Not hearing his response, Sir Crodyn shouted again "What was
that?"
Taking a deep breath, Jazz shouted in return "I fixed it."
Walking over to him, Sir Crodyn said "What did you do
exactly to my armor?"
"Well, I patched the armor where it was weak and...a few
other things."
"What other things?"
"Well...you will have to get into your armor for me to
explain it." said Jazz, a look of slight fright on his face.
"Okay, whatever..." said Crodyn, throwing up his hands and
walking back to his armor.
Five minutes later, Sir Crodyn strapped into his armor and
had achieved verticle positioning.
Jazz shouted "Sir Crodyn, head outside. We need to test the
improvements I made."
Shortly thereafter, the troop came to stand in a practice
area not far from the forge.
"What's this about, Sir Jazz?" asked Sir Crodyn.
"Just do as I say and you will see."
Silently vowing to have a talk with Jazz about touching
another knights personal equipment, Sir Crodyn prepared for
Jazz's first order.
"Sir Crodyn, punch the rock formation."
"But, that will..."
"Trust me." interrupted Jazz.
Shrugging, Crodyn said, hesitantly "Okay..."
Sir Crodyn reared back and punched the rock formation with
all available strength, praying the armor on the arm held. When
the duct cleared, Crodyn saw the arm was whole while the rock was
nothing more than pebbles.
"Happy now?" asked Jazz sarcastically.
"What else did you do to my armor?"
"Look to your left. You should see a red switch. Face the
target down field and hit the switch."
Doing so, everyone heard a small whirling sound as a stream
of sharp projectiles became imbedded in the target.
"Gatling launcher works. Careful though, you have limited
ammunition."
"Okay...anything else?" asked Crodyn, liking what he found
so far.
"Well, not much else beside," Jazz began to tick off the
fingers on his right hand, "Increased reaction time, two more
gatling launchers in the arms, a flamethrower mounted above your
head, a lighter, stronger armor, and an increased power plant.
My power armor just wasn't working so I worked on your's last
night. Hope you didn't mind."
"Not now...just next time, tell me about what you are going
to do to my armor. Okay?"
"No problem. Have fun." said Jazz, turning to go. Seeing
Arshes', Gara's, and Tia's stunned looks, Jazz continued "What?
Aren't Sir Crodyn and I allowed to be friends?"
"I thought he was your enemy?"
"No Tia, he and I made up last night. I try to follow the
philosophy of trying to make as many friends and as few enemies
as possible. Besides, I believe it is getting close for my
session with your father."
The rest of the day progressed as usual, sessions with
Darschu, Sheila, Tia, Arshes(musical enhancement), and finished
off with a round of blacksmithing with Talon.